Bungee Jumping Failure: Girl Survives Plunge As Rope Snaps

Posted by Clive in Travel

Bungee jumping failure as rope snaps sending tourist plunging into the river.

Erin Langworthy, an Australian tourist, was lucky to be alive after the bungee rope she was tied to snapped sending her plunging into the Zambezi River below.

Erin Langworthy was bungee jumping in Zambia close to Victoria Falls, the worlds largest waterfall.

Officials are undertaking an investigation but maintain that bungee jumping at the location has been safely in operation for 10 years and is undertaken by more than 50,000 people each year.

Erin Langworthy might have a few words to say about that after having to spend a week in hospital recovering from her ordeal. See her story below.

Bungee Jumping Failure Video

Video: Channel 9 News & AP
Picture: cordelia_persen

New York & Washington on High Alert

Posted by Sam in Travel

New York and Washington are on high alert this weekend as the 10th anniversary of 9/11 approaches.

Security services have warned of a specific and credible threat as al-Qaeda look to cause another ‘spectacular’ on the anniversary of 9/11.

The Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, said that there was “a specific, credible but unconfirmed report that al-Qaeda, again, is seeking to harm Americans and in particular, to target New York and Washington.”

It is believed that they are hunting for 3 suspects, possibly including 2 US nationals, who travelled into the country last month. They say that New York or Washington DC are potential targets.

Although Osama Bin Laden was killed earlier this year the al-Qaeda organisation has always operated more as a franchise operation than an organisation with one chain of command.

Events in Afghanistan and Iraq have driven more disaffected people to their cause and their terrorist cells are capable of acting independently.

Security had been increased anyway as the 9/11 anniversary approached but President Obama has asked security chiefs to increase their efforts.

In New York the police presence has obviously and conspicuously been beefed up. Transport hubs such as airports and train stations have seen an increase in security personnel.

There is more tension in the air than usual this weekend. However, New Yorkers are just getting on with things. Checkpoints are a nuisance but they understand the necessity in keeping them safe.

If you are in New York or Washington this week let us know your thoughts and tell us about peoples spirit this weekend in the comments below.

Photo: Official US Nay Imagery

Filettino Declares Independence from Italy

Posted by Sam in Travel

Filettino has become famous overnight for attempting to declare independence from Italy.

Filettino became famous last week when the Mayor of Filettino, Luca Sellari, decided that the best thing todo in the face of sweeping austerity cuts by the Italian government was to declare independence and start printing their own money.

Naturally the new banknotes, called Fiorito (flowered), have Luca Sellari’s head printed on them, but have been taken up by the town and are being used in local shops as a wave of curious tourists descend on the town.

Filettino is about 40 miles east of Rome in central Italy and has fewer than 600 residents. In August, as a result of a $65 billion emergency budget, the Italian government announced that any towns with fewer than 1,000 residents would be forced to merge with neighbors.

Italy desperately needs to cut costs as it struggles to cope with it’s financial problems.

The idea has been resisted across Italy and prospect of Filettino being forced to merge with neighbouring town Trevi, was seemingly the last straw for the Filettino authorities.

Filettino, A New Principality

Filettino now has everything that a new Principality could need, including it’s own website, coat of arms (resplendent on the t-shirts for sale in the local shop) and a local liqueur.

The story reminds me of an episode of Family Guy when Peter declares independence from America and ends up annexing his neighbors pool, but that’s another story.

Whether the move will be able to be sustained is open to debate, the currency is not quite official yet and is being marketed as a souvenir at this point.

The Mayor’s dream of becoming the Prince of Filettino is not dimmed however, he points out that Italy was originally lots of small Principalities and that San Marino to the north still manages to survive in such a form.

Photo: brtsergio

Hurricane Irene Gets Closer To US East Coast

Posted by Clive in Travel

Hurricane Irene is rapidly approaching the east coast of the United States today as millions batten down the hatches.

Millions of people are being told today to pack their bags and evacuate their homes as Hurricane Irene hits the US with wind speeds up to 90mph.

US President, Barack Obama, cut short his holiday to warn people about the dangers and advised anyone in the projected path to take precautions. People have been stocking up on water, fuel and food while others have evacuated altogether.

In some areas a mandatory evacuation order has been put into effect. These are low lying areas that are in danger of heavy damage and include parts of New York City. Hurricane Irene is expected to hit New York on Sunday.

New York’s subway will be shut down, airports closed and some areas will become no go, including the financial district in Manhattan. Power companies warned of potential outages.

There are so far 7 states that have declared a state of emergency and Hurricane Irene is just the first hurricane of the season. One wonders how the rest of the year will progress.

The good news is that the National Hurricane Center has moved Hurricane Irene from a category 2 to a category 1 hurricane for the moment, but it is still a beast of a storm.

Extending almost 100 miles across and gusting at wind speeds of up to 90 mph. Pressure changes can speed up or slow down Hurricane Irene so it could potentially move back to a category 2.

You can follow the updates from the National Hurricane Center on twitter, http://twitter.com/#!/NHC_Atlantic.

Hurricane Irene comes not long after an unusually long and hot heatwave and a large earthquake struck the US.

US residents are taking it in good, or should that be grim, humor but must be wondering what is happening as these events become more frequent.

If you would like to see what Hurricane Irene looks like from the International Space Station then check out the video below from NASA.

Hurricane Irene Seen From Space

Photo: NASA Goddard Photo & Video

Virginia Earthquake Rattles Washington

Posted by Jo in Travel

Virginia earthquake measuring 5.8 magnitude yesterday hit the US east coast, shaking buildings in the Washington capital and forcing a Government evacuation.

As a political earthquake shook in Libya, a physical one started to shake the east coast of the US yesterday at about 2pm lasting for about 30 seconds.

Three aftershocks were also recorded, one of which was measured as a 4.8 magnitude earthquake.

The epicentre of the earthquake was in the state of Virginia at a a depth of about 4 miles and 5 miles from the nearest town of Mineral.

The earthquake was felt as far away as Washington where there was some minor damage and a mass evacuation of buildings including the Pentagon.

The earthquake was one of the strongest to hit the US east coast in over 100 years and lasted for about 30 seconds moving buildings from side to side.

People filtered out onto the streets as they were evacuated from buildings in case of any further tremors or structural damage. Most people were sent home for the rest of the day while checks were made and to check out their own premises.

There are plenty of nuclear power stations in the area including New York and some were switched off although the Nuclear watchdog said that no reactors suffered any damage. People are understandably jittery about Nuclear power stations after the events of Japan’s earthquake.

The earthquake interrupted a press conference on the Dominique Strauss-Kahn assault case after he had been released following the dropping of the charges.

Photo: Official U.S. Navy Imagery

Groom Eaten by Shark on Seychelles Honeymoon

Posted by Jeff in Travel

A bridegroom on honeymoon in the Seychelles was attacked and killed in an horrific shark attack yesterday.

Ian Redmond had been married to Gemma Houghton for just 10 days when Ian tragically lost his life in the normally tranquil waters of Praslin Island in the Seychelles.

He was swimming in shallow water just off the beach when the shark attacked, ripping large chunks flesh from his body. He was rescued by dinghy but died shortly after as his new wife looked on horrified, she had been sunbathing on the beach.

Family are now flying out to the island to be with Gemma at what must be an incomprehensible and devastating time for her.

Experts said that the attack was likely to be a Bull or Tiger shark, possibly the same one that attacked and killed a French diver last week in the same area. The island’s government were holding a meeting about that incident when Ian was killed.

The Bull and Tiger sharks are dangerous animals and two of the more likely sharks to attack humans, but incidents are rare. Fatal attacks barely climb into double figures annually. Usually if they do happen it is because of nearby activities such as fishing which draw sharks hunting for fish.

Before the 1st death last week, there had never been an attack around the island reported before. Specialist shark hunters have now been flown into the island from South Africa and beaches have been closed off until further notice.

Photo: NOAA Photo Library

Heatwave Settles Over US & Canada

Posted by Jeff in Travel

Temperatures have surged over parts of the US and Canada as a heatwave parks itself over large parts of both countries.

There have been over 20 cities in Canada have broken their previous heat records and in the US there were more than 200 heat records broken.

People have compared the soaring temperatures to being in a sauna all day with no escape. The temperatures have been accompanied by high humidity.

Many cities have hit 40C including New York, the humidity factor has meant it felt more like 45C.

The city has starting to cut back on electricity usage in certain areas as it tries to stop infrastructure from overheating. The electrical grid has seen power usage go through the roof, mainly from use of air conditioners and gadgets to keep cool in the stifling heat.

Over in Canada, temperatures in Toronto reached the 100F mark. This is close to 38C, a record for July in the city.

The heatwave has travelled in from the mid-west last weekend and is expected to last into next week. The city is not the best place to be during such weather, the heat builds up in the asphalt and buildings reflecting it back and storing it up to gradually release it over a longer period of time… meaning stifling nights that are difficult to sleep through.

Photo: Global Jet

South Sudan – The World Has a New Country

Posted by Jeff in Education, Travel

South Sudan has become the newest country in the world as it became an independent nation from Sudan today, officially recognised by it’s neighbour and by the UN.

The move was made possible after the peace treaty in 2005 between the warring north and south of Sudan. Decades of conflict had witnessed some estimated 1.5 million people perished in Africa’s longest running conflict.

The Sudanese President, Omar Al-Bashir and head of the UN, Ban Ki-Moon were both present at the independence ceremony in Juba, the new nations capital Juba.

South Sudan now becomes the 193rd country to be a member of the United Nations and the 54th officially recognised state in Africa.

Hours before the official change of statesmanship, the people of Juba were out on the streets celebrating, waving their new national flag, banging drums and chanting their Presidents name.

There will be challenges ahead for the new country, there are still some  groups skirmishing in the border regions and it has real problems with education, with 84% of women illiterate and less than 1% of children finishing primary school in it’s poorest regions. In health there are many issues including a very high mortality rate in child birth.

However, South Sudan is a large country of almost 240,000 sq. miles and contains a large number of oil fields where it currently shares revenue with the North. A position that will have to be re-negotiated.

So the future looks brighter for the newest African nation, supported by the US and the UN. With large oil revenues and no fighting, growth could be rapid.

Iceland Ash Cloud No. 2

Posted by Clive in Travel

In April last year, an extensive amount of European airspace was closed for almost a month as an ash cloud slowly drifted from it’s starting point in Iceland. Now, another Icelandic volcano has erupted sending another ash cloud into the sky.

Shutting down European airspace last year caused chaos for those trapped in foreign climes and for those businesses involved in the airline industry, costing them billions in revenue.

The new plume is predicted to head towards the UK overnight and President Obama has flown into the UK early from his trip in Ireland, as a precaution against the possibility of the cloud stopping flights tomorrow. Some flights have already been cancelled from Scotland.

Much has improved since last year however, with new procedures, tests, guidelines and communications with the airlines in place. Many people felt that there was a serious over-reaction to last years ash cloud.

Photo: Matito